By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – With two months of reporting still remaining, the Alabaster Fire Department’s Planning and Safety Division had some good news to share with the City Council during a recent meeting.

Through the end of October, which is the most recent report available, the city had issued a total of 89 new home building permits, which had already exceeded the 85 new home building permits the city issued through the first 10 months of 2015.

In total, the city issued 100 new home permits in 2015, 77 in 2014, 61 in 2013, 57 in 2012 and 30 in 2011.

While the total valuation of the homes built so far this year is slightly down from 2015, the average new home value for this year is nearly $238,000, according to the reports.

“The home values are still looking strong,” Ward 7 Councilwoman Kerri Pate said while reading the reports during a Nov. 28 council meeting.

After lagging significantly behind last year’s numbers for the majority of this year, the residential addition or remodel numbers through the end of October are now catching up with 2015.

At the end of October this year, the city had issued 191 residential addition or remodel permits for projects valued at a total of about $3.1 million, compared to 205 such permits for projects valued at about $3.5 million during the same time period last year.

The commercial sector is still lagging significantly behind last year’s numbers.

Through Oct. 31, Alabaster had issued 11 new commercial building permits for buildings valued at a total of $5.4 million, which was down from the nine new commercial building permits for projects valued at about $13.5 million the city issued through the first 10 months of last year.

In the commercial addition or remodel department, the city had issued 46 permits for projects valued at about $2 million, compared to 70 permits for projects valued at about $6.9 million last year.